Barnacles are a type of shell fish that cement themselves to other objects in the water such as rocks, boats, etc. Barnacle attachment may be almost impossible to prevent, and once attached, the barnacles may be extremely difficult to remove. Needless to say, barnacles and problems they cause may create an almost constant source of inconvenience, not to mention irritation, to boaters.
A boat lift may be used to prevent, among other things, barnacles from attaching to a boat during periods of nonuse. A known boat lift includes an elevator which rides on a pair of rails. The rails are formed from I-beam members each having a web and two flanges. The elevator includes a boat cradle, roller assemblies mounted to the rails for riding thereon, and respective yokes securing the roller assemblies to the boat cradle. Each roller assembly includes rollers positioned on each side of the rail. The lower portions of the rails extend into the water allowing the boat to be raised and lowered from and into the water for storage and use, respectively.
While a boat lift may help minimize barnacle buildup on the boat itself, the creatures do not hesitate to attach to the lower submerged portions of the rails of the boat lift. Barnacles which attach to the inner surfaces of the flanges of the I-beam rails will be crushed when the elevator is lowered into the water. However, the barnacles which build up on the webs of the rails may create problems. Barnacle buildup on the webs may interfere with the movement of the elevator along the rails and the buildup may advance to a point that renders the boat lift inoperable. In the past, it was necessary to periodically perform the unpleasant and time-consuming task of removing the barnacles from the boat lift rails, typically with a chisel and hammer.